Despite being just twenty-one years old, American singer and actress Sabrina Carpenter has already dropped four studio albums, appeared in several TV shows, including a main role in Girl Meets World, and starred in films including Horns and The Hate U Give. But it’s her latest single Skin that has got tongues wagging.

Many have theorised that the track is a response to Olivia Rodrigo’s recent single Driver’s License, a hit record about lost love that has smashed Spotify’s record for most streams of a song in a week, and debuted at number one in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Some of Rodrigo’s fans have suggested that the song may be about her High School Musical co-star Joshua Bassett, who has been romantically linked with Carpenter.

Whatever the truth may be, there’s no doubt that Skin is a stunningly strong pop track, with Carpenter’s rich vocals layered over a minimalist backing track. Lyrically, Carpenter talks about a clash with an unnamed person, and defiantly, she sings: “I wish you knew that ?ven you / Can't get under my skin if I don't let you in."

Writing on her official Facebook page and addressing some of these rumours, Carpenter said:

“Thank you to everyone who has listened to Skin especially those who have opened their minds to lyrically what I was trying to get across. I wasn’t bothered by a few lines in a (magnificent) song and wrote a diss track about it. I was at a tipping point in my life for countless reasons. So I was inspired to do what I usually do to cope, write something that I wish I could have told myself in the past. People can only get to you if you give them the power to. and a lot of people were trying to get to me.

“The song isn’t calling out one single person. Some lines address a specific situation, while other lines address plenty of other experiences I’ve had this past year. it also shows that many things have actually gotten under my skin… and I’m still learning to not give other people so much power over my feelings. I know a lot of you struggle with the same thing. I don’t want this to become an endless cycle so please don’t take this as an opportunity to send more hate anyone’s way. Lots of love to u all. Thanks for letting me grow.”

So Carpenter has rejected the stories. But what do you think? Watch the official lyric video for Skin here.

Find out more about Sabrina Carpenter on her official website.

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.